this is post is based on a conversation i had with someone about whether we positively connect our anarchism to democracy or not, because on one hand the democratic ideal, of everyone being in power and making decisions together is pretty neat and anarchist, and that’s also what many people think of when they hear democracy, but then democracies (as in democratic organisations and states) since the greek inception of the word also have almost exclusively been the ruling of a privileged few over the rest, with just enought power (or illusion of power) handed back to us that we wouldnt rebel. as one argument goes: if “democracy” literally means “rulership of the people” then who are the people?

sadly we did not kiss after the conversation :<
but i think we agreed that honestly either is fine ฅ>⩊<ฅ

and now: me rambling about anarchy :3

if you are wondering now “anarchy? isnt that when everyone just does whatever they want and fucks everyone else over?? isnt that just destructive chaos?”

then well, that is one definition of anarchy but it is not the anarchy that anarchists desire ;3

anarchy as anarchists understand it is a society organizing itself by anarchist principles. this expesses itself through things such as mutual aide, free association, absence or minimalization of hierarchies and direct action.

basically people getting together in all areas of their lives, to together fulfill their needs, help each other, make decisions among those affected and resolve conflicts together. it’s ofc not always glamourus, no society is, but we believe that it is a better way of living and organizing and we can start building it here and now by just doing those things

important values of anarchy are equality, freedom, solidarity, consent, and uniqueness. those are also shared (or claimed to be shared) by other political movements and organizations, but i would argue that most put other things first such as upholding the current system, maintaining and extending the rulers power and such.

ofc not all anarchists think alike so at the end of the day this is just one perspective out of many

if u are intrigued now and wanna hear more about anarchism, you could check out the anarchist faq or ask in the comments but pws don’t be mean

  • riwo@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
    15·
    23 hours ago

    i’d argue it all depends on how one defines democracy. is it an ideal or a state governed by a minoriry of parlament or representatives? depending on that the flaw is either build in or something that can be overcome. either way i believe the solution is anarchy. the question is wherher anarchy is democracy or not…

      • riwo@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
        18·
        23 hours ago

        i think you missed the point.

        the question is whether anarchy

        • is the true democracy, getting closest to the democratic ideal, while most systems that call themselves democratic are far away from that ideal
        • is a seperate system to democracy, in which case it would be a preferrable system and democracy inherently flawed

        dictatorship was never on the table but arguable representative democracy is exactly that. an elected oligarchy

        • Diplomjodler@lemmy.worldEnglish
          54·
          22 hours ago

          Representative democracy is the best social system we have managed to practically implement yet. If your entirely hypothetical anarchy isn’t democratic, I want nothing to do with it, because if it isn’t democratic it’s by definition dictatorial.